Never Too Late
by TheEmptyMind
Summary: You know Rorschach...it's not too late." One-Shot. Song Fic: Three Days Grace - Never Too Late.


_This world will never be, What I expected  
And if I don't belong, Who would have guessed it  
I will not leave alone everything that I own  
To make you feel like it's not too late  
It's never too late_

"Daniel…good partner…" Rorschach swallowed, the sound echoing through the Nest. The words could not flow out of his mouth. They were unspeakable. His hands were trembling with agitation. What if Daniel hadn't thought that they were…friends? What if Daniel just saw Rorschach as just a partner, one who was indispensible and could be replaced by someone else. The thought of Daniel partnering up with someone else made Rorschach see red. Daniel was _his_ partner. Not someone else's. No one knew Daniel like Rorschach did.

The subtle touch of a hand against Rorschach's shoulder brought him back to reality. Daniel was standing before him, that usual innocent and warm smile spreading across his face.

"Good…f-friend…" he whispered.

_Even if I say  
It'll be alright  
Still I hear you say, You want to end your life  
Now and again we try to just stay alive  
Maybe we'll turn it all around because it's not too late  
It's never too late_

"Rorschach…I'm not…I'm retiring, I'm can't do this anymore…" Daniel lets his head hang because he knows that he's disappointed the one person who means the most to him. He knows that he should expect a sharp and poisonous reply. Expect a hard fist in his direction, the probably of his jaw breaking. He expects his partner to go mad, into a blind rage.

Yet nothing happens. The silence between them is…stabbing. Like needles and pins pushing themselves deeper into Dan's heart. He doesn't want to quit really, but what else can he do? He would be an outlaw. Twice the artillery would be going after them. Not only would they have to look out for criminals, and bad guys, but also the police.

"Rorschach…?" his tone is above a whisper.

He looks up. His partner is trembling, fists clenched tight, the inkblots on his mask move in a dangerous manner. Dan knows that the man standing before him is no longer his friend, but an animal that he should now be wary of. But Rorschach doesn't move, he just stands. Trembling.

Daniel moves forward.

Rorschach steps back.

"Don't…" It's not a command, but a warning. He will snap at any moment.

"…quitter…" The word is whispered.

There are stamping feet down the stairs leading to the basement. They are soon nothing but echoes down the dark tunnel.

'_Damn you Rorschach'_ Daniel thinks _'Do you want to die out there?'_

_No one will ever see, This side reflected  
And if there's something wrong, Who would have guessed it  
And I have left alone, Everything that I own  
To make you feel like, It's not too late  
It's never too late_

He looks down upon the dark, grimy world below him. It's full of hate, lust, evil and sin. Most of all, it's full of distrust. Full of broken promises. But he mustn't concern himself with that. He feels nothing. All he stands for is Justice. Righting the wrongs. Killing the corrupt. He feels nothing.

(Daniel sits at home, in his kitchen, a plate of day old tack out sitting before him. He's waiting, for what he doesn't know. He's lying to himself. 'You know what you're waiting for.' A voice whispers. 'More like who. Who you're waiting for.' The voice corrects.)

Fists connect with ribs and jaws, and blood is shed. He takes a blow to the gut, but isn't fazed. No, he feels nothing. He is Justice. He connects with a rib and hears the beautiful sound of cracking bone. Two sinners lie at his feet, unconscious and most likely about to die. Rorschach is in the middle of taken down a third. He feels cold metal pierce flesh and pain is all that he can feel. White hot rage burns through him and suddenly the attacker is on the ground, his face looking as though it's been smashed by something other than fists. Four criminals lie at Rorschach's feet. He has conquered.

His head spins. Blood is being lost. He staggers._ 'Must…get to…Daniel'_

(He's waiting for Rorschach, but he knows that he won't show. Not Rorschach, not since Daniel's retired. Not since Daniel's quit.)

The thudding on the door springs hope into Daniel. He jumps and runs to the door, finding Rorschach on the other side, clutching his left shoulder, blood seeping through the purple leather gloves and running down the brown trench coat. Daniel pulls him in without a word and runs to grab the sewing kit. Rorschach makes his way down the basement. There are windows here, and he could easily be seen through them.

Rorschach sits on Daniel's work bench, wiping a hand across before sitting, knowing that it's covered with dust. He sits, waiting for Daniel to come bolting down the stairs, and sure enough he can hear him. Rorschach carefully, and slowly removes his trench coat and pulls the white ragged scarf from around his neck. Even though the one layer is gone, he feels as though he's as naked as a newborn infant. Daniel eyes him. Rorschach grunts, and pulls the purple pinstripe jacket off, revealing the same pinstripe vest and a white button up tee. Daniel waits. Rorschach growls in defiance.

"You can sew it up yourself if you want." Daniel suggests.

…

Rorschach won't take a chance. He pulls off the vest and button up, revealing another layer, a white tank top. He's unnerved and doesn't feel comfortable. Daniel can see the fresh cut. A straight pierce into the shoulder. Luckily it wasn't a long blade, probably a switch blade of some sort. Any bigger and there would have been massive damage. He takes the thread and eyes it through the tiny hole of the needle. As the needle goes through skin, Rorschach doesn't flinch.

It isn't long before Daniel is done sewing, and the cut is now closed together. Daniel uses disinfectant and then puts a patch over it. Rorschach is up as soon as he's finished and puts back on the several layers. He walks back down that dark tunnel.

"You're welcome." Daniel calls over his shoulder.

Nothing.

'_Damn it all Rorschach, I gave up a lot for you.'_

_Even if I say  
It'll be alright  
Still I hear you say, You want to end your life  
Now and again we try to just stay alive  
Maybe we'll turn it all around because it's not too late  
It's never too late_

He's sitting again on the work bench, but this time the damage is worse. His side has been cut deep. The cut in his shoulder is reopened. Rorschach is almost beaten into unconsciousness. And yet he's still alive. _'How?'_ Daniel wonders. _'How could such a man take a beating and still be standing. How could he have even walked all the way here?'_

"You're going to need to rest for a couple of days Rorschach, these wounds are serious." All Daniel hears is grunted reply. He looks up to see that Rorschach is pulling on his coat warily. His movements slow.

"Rorschach, you can't go back out there. You're injuries are too serious and-" Daniel is cut off by a low growl emitting from behind the swirling mask.

"Least I'm doing something. Least I'm making a difference. Not sitting around, waiting for city to swallow me." Rorschach trudges up the stairs, his feet like weights. He may be injured, but Justice does not stop. He must be ever vigilant and ever watching. He must save this city from itself.

"Damn it Rorschach! Do you want to die?!" Daniel sudden outbursts makes Rorschach waver. He stops at the foot of the stairs, and slowly turns, seeing Daniel, standing tight, fists clenched. He is shaking. "Don't go back out there. Please Rorschach…don't go back out there. Do you…do you really want to die?" Daniel's voice wavers. He can feel the sting of tears in his eyes and he forces himself to look down at his shoes because he can't face that swirling mask. He can't look back into it without seeing it covered with blood and the inkblots no longer moving because the man beneath it is…no, he can't even stomach the thought.

A voice.

"Better to die saving something that needs saving."

He is gone.

_The world we knew won't come back  
The time we've lost can't get back  
The life we had won't be ours again_

Rorschach is furious. He tears the clothes from the man standing before him. His masked is pushed up to the bridge of his nose. Lips meet furiously as Daniel wretches the trench coat and suit coat from the smaller man. He can hear Rorschach growling through the kiss, and as his hand drifts up to Rorschach's neck he feels the vibration.

Suddenly he's laying on his back, smaller man on top of him, ripping off the vest and button up revealing a small muscled body, splattered with freckles on the shoulders and down arms. His lips are upon Daniel once more, and for once, Daniel doesn't mind being bruised by his partner.

_This world will never be, What I expected  
And if I don't belong....._

Their breathing is shallow and their movements are synchronized. Both in a state of passion, each one blinded by the greatest feeling they have ever felt before. Daniel arches his back, feeling Rorschach…no…Walter…he…he feels Walter, not Rorschach. He feels Walter, and only Walter.

He's wanted this for so long. He would've died for this.

He's blinded by white hot pleasure. And everything is suddenly clear as day. He knows everything. He feels everything.

Chapped dry lips press lightly to his.

He never expected this to happen.

_Even if I say  
It'll be alright  
Still I hear you say, You want to end your life_

_Now and again we try to just stay alive  
Maybe we'll turn it around  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late_

"You need to be more careful…" He knows the words will fall on deaf ears, but Rorschach nods to him anyway. It seems as though Daniel is stitching Rorschach up every other night. The needle threads through the skin with ease. The black stitches are now becoming a common mark on the freckled body, and it makes Daniel's stomach turn. He doesn't want this to keep going.

"You know…" he starts as he cuts the last of the thread and makes sure that the wound won't come open. Rorschach turns and looks at him, inkblots moving slowly and then there's that same little tilt of the head. "It's not too late…" says Daniel, his voice barely above a whisper, "To…stop this…to retire. It's not too late." A low growl. Dan should've known better that to bring this up.

"Won't retire. City needs justice." Daniel sighs as he hears the words.

"I just want you to be safe…that's all." Says Dan. It's true. All he wants is for Rorschach to come back every night. To come back and reassure that he's alive. That he still has a beating pulse. Because every night that Rorschach doesn't return, it's a night that he stays up worrying, pacing back and forth, wondering if his partner is out there bleeding in the street, or if he's being beaten to death, or…no, he can't imagine worse. He won't imagine worse.

"Just remember…" advises Dan, "It's never too late."

_  
Maybe we'll turn it around  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late _

_It's not too late  
It's never too late_

**Ok, so this came to me awhile and I finally had time to upload it. **

**I DO NOT OWN WATCHMEN, They belong to DC Comics.**

**Song by Never Too Late by Three Days Grace.**

**R & R Please.  
**


End file.
